


bad idea

by logictron



Category: Valor (TV)
Genre: F/M, Post Finale, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-31 09:49:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13972461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/logictron/pseuds/logictron
Summary: Thea needs a drink. So does Ian. Post-finale.





	bad idea

**Author's Note:**

> For davidshawnsown on Tumblr, who wanted Thea and Ian. Hope this works for you! :)
> 
> Also this was speed-written. At work. On my phone. Also my baby barely slept last night. So if there are mistakes, I apologize! Valor doesn't belong to me.

She has no real business going to the bar on base. She doesn't belong there. There are plenty of other places to get a drink on the drive home. But coming here means no one will hit on her or buy her a drink or try to take her home. Because she's OGA. She's _not them_. So drinking there feels safer, somehow.

And after today, God, does she need a drink. Or twenty.

Unsurprisingly, the first empty stool she finds at the bar is next to Porter. She imagines he needs a drink as badly as she does.

"Long day?"

"Yeah," he huffs out a laugh. "Something like that."

Thea orders a drink, a whiskey, because beer won't even come close to touching this.

"We didn't get blown up."

"I know," Ian sighs.

"And Sergeant Kam is home."

"I know," he says again.

Her drink arrives and Thea lifts it thoughtfully between them.

"To Jimmy," Porter allows, lifting his beer. And they drink.

**

Thea has always found Ian...cute. In a boy scout kind of way. He's absolutely not her type, but she knows she's his, and she has zero problem with elevating that fact, flirting with him just to watch him squirm. But recently, with everything dissolving under them, the list of people she can trust is painfully short, and somehow, Lieutenant Boy Scout is at the top of said list.

Talking to him is actually kind of nice.

"You with me?" he asks, nudging her knee with his own under the bartop. The way he's smiling at her, Thea knows exactly what he's thinking.

"Yeah," She meets his eyes. "I should go. It's late."

"Or you could stay."

Thea has to give him credit for that. She never would've guessed he'd be bold enough to proposition her.

"I'm not sure that's the best idea," she says, wondering if there's ever been a point in her life where she could've ended up with someone like him, steady and stable. Predictable. Reliable.

"For you? Or for me?" he asks.

"You don't want someone like me, Porter. Trust me on that."

"Shouldn't I be the one to make that decision?" Something hardens in his gaze and Thea sighs.

"Under normal circumstances? Absolutely. But we both know this is a little more complicated. I still have to work with Nora. You still have to see us both. Isn't everything already enough of a mess?" she asks. 

"You think it could get any worse?" 

"I think we both have enough experience to know the answer to that, Ian," Thea says, sliding off her stool. The room tilts a little more than she's anticipating. Ian grabs her arm to steady her.

"Let me call you a cab?"

Thea can agree to that much. There's no way she's driving home.

"I wasn't just looking for a hookup you know," he says once they're outside, waiting.

She laughs harder than she should at that. "I know."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asks, more amused than offended.

"Tell me, have you ever had a hookup?"

"Yes," he replies, indignant. She arches her brow and he caves. "In college. Once."

"You're a good guy, Ian. You deserve better." Thea isn't sure if she means better than her or better than Nora.

"So do you."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that one." She thinks about Zoe, about Gallo. And then about Richard and Goundry and Magnus.

"I'd be happy to prove it to you sometime. If you'll let me."

The cab pulls up but Thea's still studying Ian. "Okay, I'll make you a deal. If you still think that's true a month from now, ask me again."

The grin he gives her is so damn earnest, Thea finds herself smiling, too.

"I'll do that. Text me to let me know you made it home?" He opens the door for her. A perfect gentleman. Of course.

"Sure. Have a good night, Porter."

"Gnight, ma'am."

One month. There's no way he'll remember. But she kind of hopes he does.


End file.
